Publisher's Summary

No one can get close to John Medina, the CIA's legendary Black Ops specialist who works in the shadows of the government's deadliest missions. He is a virtual invisible man, with no friends, many enemies, and a cloud of suspicion surrounding the death of his wife.

And no one knows the dangers better than Niema Burdock. A sharp, steely-nerved communications expert, Niema and her husband, Dallas, worked side by side with Medina on an explosive mission that went tragically wrong.

She could hear it all play out, horribly, on the radio: Dallas set off the detonators at John Medina's command - and found himself trapped in the crossfire. In a shattering blast, Niema's hope and her love were destroyed....

Now Niema has withdrawn to a quiet Intelligence position, and a safe - if predictable - existence that has helped her heal her scars from five years ago. And she never planned to see Medina again. But now John Medina needs her....

A French arms dealer is supplying international terrorist units, and John Medina must infiltrate his compound and crack the deadly ring. But only Niema can plant the undetectable bugs needed to nail the dealer - a feat that begins by going undercover and winning his trust. But when their careful strategy begins to crack, Niema and John take flight - and find their partnership sparking with an erotically charged, unquenchable electricity. In a world of deception, one thing is clear: John Medina has once again set Niema on a free fall into danger and desire - and one can't exist without the other.

Solid narration by Kate Forbes. Fair story. Nothing special, but not bad. I liked the scenes where John Medina (Tucker) was teaching self-defense to Niema Burdoch. There's explicit sex towards the end. The two protagonists did something very stupid, hanging around in France when danger clearly lurked.

Linda Howard's "CIA Spies" series get lots of acclaim, but personally, I think they are half-baked. They didn't feel complete as a romance nor as a suspense thriller.

The three books in the series, in order:

1. Kill and Tell. An old US Marine (retired) sent his "Sniper killbook" to his estranged wife and daughter. It contains evidence that would expose a corrupt senator. When said sniper is murdered, his daughter Karen turns to New Orleans PD detective Marc Chastain for help. A CIA agent (John Medina) gets involved because the bad guys also killed his father. Too much torrid sex in this one, but a decent plot.

2. All the Queen's Men (this book). Covert CIA agent John Medina (introduced in Kill and Tell) puts the sting on a deadly explosives operation, meanwhile putting the moves on CIA techno-geek Niema Burdoch. He's loved her for five years. We also learn that John Medina has a soft spot for Karen and Marc (book 1), keeping watch over them.

3. Kiss Me While I Sleep (very slight overlap with the two previous books). There is a mole in the CIA, and the highly trusted CIA director is in critical condition. Special agent Lucas Swain doesn't know who to trust, so he's on his own, bringing down a renegade operative in France. However, Lily Mansfield is more than he expected. Together, Lucas and Lily put a stop to a bioterrorism plot.

PLOT: 2 cia ops take on French Arms Terrorist and find desire and sexy intrigue~

John Medina and "Dallas" on a mission ends up with DALLAS DEAD~ now John is out to recruit the widow of Dallas the lovely sexy Niema Burdock~ John Medina is legend and little is known about him.He is one of the most reclusive and secret CIA spies~ With a sexy air of mystery he ruthlessly adds Neima to his team to take on a French Arms dealer who is part of a TERRORIST network. HOT and SEXY is the only way to descibe the "under cover(S) " assignment of John and Neima who over come their lack of trust and faith in each other and find a common goal to destroy some old enemies. a very early excellent story by the ever fun Linda Howard and we first hear about John Medina in Kill and Tell. This story is first rate and takes off and builds and you will want to listen to the whole thing. This is the first time the unabridged edition has been released in over 10 years. I give this 5 STARS for first rate thriller story, sexy couple and great thrills til the end of the story~ also recommend Mr. Perfect, Now You See Her and Open Season that audible have finally obtained in the last few weeks in unabridged forms~ all first rate early Linda Howard audio books~

This is an old book of Linda Howard and not re-recorded for Audible. At one point in the story the narration stopped and the voice said it was time to "flip the tape over and play the other side." Yep, this was recorded back when cassette players were popular. Story is not as good as some of LH current work and the narrator was very unemotional so not much chemistry. I wish I had not used a credit on this one.

This book grabbed me right from the beginning! It was a complete listen from start to end and the characters were so wonderful and fun to follow! Story was realistic. The empathy I felt for the "bad guy" was a bit of a surprise.